Squish HP laptop to work?

Sorry, not a Mac issue, but I'm helping a friend. He has an HP laptop that completely freezes unless he presses down on it. It started out where he had to press firmly on the left of the trackpad. Then slowly went to the whole unit. Now he said he has better luck if he places something like a nut (not the kind you eat) under the middle of the laptop. Also, if he presses in the upper right corner it just shuts off.
I opened the laptop once but could find nothing (and of course it worked fine when opened) Sounds to me like something is grounding. The computer completely freezes in whatever it is doing, then you squish it and it picks right up again. Everything was tight inside, I didn't see any grounding issues, and the case is plastic so that wouldn't affect grounding. Ideas?

Sorry, not a Mac issue, but I'm helping a friend. He has an HP laptop that completely freezes unless he presses down on it. It started out where he had to press firmly on the left of the trackpad. Then slowly went to the whole unit. Now he said he has better luck if he places something like a nut (not the kind you eat) under the middle of the laptop. Also, if he presses in the upper right corner it just shuts off.
I opened the laptop once but could find nothing (and of course it worked fine when opened) Sounds to me like something is grounding. The computer completely freezes in whatever it is doing, then you squish it and it picks right up again. Everything was tight inside, I didn't see any grounding issues, and the case is plastic so that wouldn't affect grounding. Ideas?

It's just a gut feeling, but I'd be looking for loose/broken solder joints or hairline cracks in boards. Most interesting would be areas around screws and similar fasteners, any tabs or surfaces that hold down parts, any sections of board that might be flexed when the case is tightened down. Also, look for any breaks in ribbon cables and such that would be in a different position when the cover is off.

FWIW, I've had troubles like that with old PowerBooks too, so getting an Apple machine is no panacea.

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